The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Ghana, Ghana’s Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and COCOBOD, have held the first multi-stakeholder roundtable on sustainable cocoa in Accra.

A statement issued by the three institutions, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said social sustainability of cocoa production was at the heart of the first virtual thematic roundtable organised in the framework of the National Dialogue on Sustainable Cocoa on Thursday, April 15.

It said the National Dialogue was launched last March by the Delegation of the European Union and COCOBOD with more than 150 participants, clearly confirming the high interest around sustainability matters.

The statement noted that the cocoa value chain entailed particular risks relating to child labour.

It said the EU and the Government of Ghana recognised the importance of tackling root causes of child labour and promoting several complementary actions to increase farmers’ revenue, strengthening social protection services and increase access to education and health services.

It added, however, that the roundtable particularly focused on how traceability, transparency and accountability could be further enhanced to support a cocoa supply chain that was free of child labour.

The statement said representatives of a large spectrum of stakeholders involved in the cocoa sector – government officials, civil society organisations, trade unions, farmers’ organisations, private sector representatives and development partners – would share experiences and lessons learnt around traceability as a mechanism to identify, detect, monitor, prevent and remedy child labour.

The statement said the event was the first of a series of three thematic roundtables that would be organised in the country aiming at delivering concrete recommendations to advance sustainability – social, economic and environmental – across the cocoa supply chain.

It said the national multi-stakeholder process would finally feed into the broader dialogue launched last year by the European Commission together with Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

The statement noted that Ghana was the world’s second cocoa producer and the EU was the world’s first importer of cocoa.

It said the EU imported roughly half of Ghana’s cocoa exports and it was the main market for Ghanaian processed cocoa products, such as paste or butter.

Madam Diana Acconcia, the EU Ambassador to Ghana said: “We believe that a commonly agreed traceability system is essential to guarantee to all actors that Ghanaian cocoa is socially and environmentally sustainable.”

“We understand that child labour is a very complex issue and the EU is ready to support more than ever, countries’ efforts to end child labour.”

Mr Joseph Boahene Aidoo, the Chief Executive of COCOCBOD, said, “It is imperative to holistically address the challenges of sustainability in the cocoa value chain, paying equal attention to farmer income as well as social and environmental concerns.”

“An economical independent farmer is better placed to ensure the sustainability of the value chain, which Ghana is committed to.”

Sophia Antipolis, 16 April 2021: The methods for evaluating high-risk medical devices are set to be reviewed in the EU-funded CORE-MD project,1 which holds its kick-off meeting today.


The project launch comes as new EU medical device regulations come into force on 26 May 2021, increasing the requirements for clinical evidence on high-risk medical devices.2 However, there are no specific EU recommendations on the design and conduct of trials for high-risk devices. In addition, medical device developers have expressed concerns that the new rules may inhibit innovation and delay market access.

More than 50% of high-risk implantable medical devices in Europe are used in cardiology and orthopaedics – such as heart valves and hip replacements – and CORE-MD will focus primarily on these areas. The three-year project begins with a systematic review of methodologies used in clinical trials to evaluate high-risk medical devices, including statistical methods and the utility of patient-reported outcomes for regulatory decisions.

CORE-MD will propose how to generate evidence using innovative methodologies like randomised registry trials and how to assess artificial intelligence algorithms that are designated as medical devices. The project will also examine how to evaluate medical devices used in children. Advice will be provided on ways to extract maximum value from real-world evidence including medical device registries and clinical practice.

Recommendations from the CORE–MD consortium will be submitted to the Working Group on Clinical Investigation and Evaluation of the European Commission, so that they can be considered as the basis for developing EU guidance documents or common specifications.

CORE-MD Scientific Coordinator Professor Alan Fraser of the ESC said: “High-risk medical devices should be approved based on scientific and clinical evidence. Experts need to advise how regulators can achieve an appropriate balance between innovation, safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness. We look forward to doing that through our unique collaboration of medical associations, EU regulators, national public health institutes, notified bodies, academic institutions, patient groups, and health technology assessment agencies, with participation of manufacturers’ trade associations.”

Professor Rob Nelissen of EFORT said: “Ultimately, the overall impact of CORE-MD will be to improve the benefit/risk ratio of new implantable medical devices and other high-risk devices for patients. We aim to see wider adoption of optimal methodologies for clinical investigations by both researchers and manufacturers, fewer approvals with limited evidence, and greater transparency of standards.”

Funding:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 965246

About the European Society of Cardiology
The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

About the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT)
The European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT) works together with its membership network and partners to restore and secure mobility, musculoskeletal health and quality of life.

Head of the European Union (EU) delegation in Zimbabwe, Timo Olkkonen, has said Zimbabwe deserves a viable and people-driven opposition to effectively keep the government under check.

Speaking on HSTV’s FreeTalk on Thursday, Olkkonen said for democracy to prevail in Zimbabwe, a viable opposition must be able to stand up and challenge the Zanu PF government when it deviates from the norm.

His comments came amid reports that the bloc told MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora at their meeting a fortnight ago that it did not recognise his leadership because he did not participate in the 2018 presidential elections.

Mwonzora met the EU diplomats two weeks ago in a bid to facilitate dialogue between the bloc and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.

“Having a viable opposition that challenges and questions the government is very important,” Olkkonen said.

“So I do recognise those concerns that when you don’t have that kind of an opposition that would have a mandate from elections. It’s an important issue and that’s why I can understand why those statements are being made.”

The MDC Alliance emerged as the biggest opposition after the 2018 harmonised elections with 2,1 million votes for its presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa. The MDC-T came a distant third with its presidential candidate Thokozani Khupe garnering a paltry 45 000 votes.

However, on March 30 2020, the Supreme Court ruling effectively gave powers to the MDC-T, leading to a series of recalls that have seen the faction, now led by Mwonzora with the majority in Parliament and priding itself as the biggest opposition outfit.

The MDC Alliance has accused the MDC-T of conniving with Zanu PF to decimate Chamisa’s party ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections.

Mwonzora, on his part, has warmed up to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, saying he was dropping the “politics of rancour” in favour of a non-confrontational approach.

The United States, in its latest report that summarises the situation in Zimbabwe since February 2020, dismissed the MDC-T as a “minor opposition” that was aided by the State to decimate the MDC Alliance.

Olkkonen called on the government to ensure that after the MDC Alliance MPs and councillors’ recalls, voters must be allowed to elect their preferred representatives.

“I would not want to go into partisan politics and comment on that. People’s representatives are lacking, which is the case now when the people have been recalled but there is need for a remedy and there will be need for elections, for people to express their will and that is why we hope that the situation will be addressed,” he said.

Olkkonen also warned that the proposed Patriotic Bill meant to criminalise, among other things, private citizens’ engagement with foreign countries, would further strain relations between Harare and the EU.

Diplomatic sources have warned that the re-engagement plan could go up in smoke if Mnangagwa persists with his push for the Patriotic Bill.

“The passing of the Patriotic Bill would change the relations between the EU, international community and Zimbabwe, that will hurt relations deeply. This is the general feeling in the discussions among diplomats,” a source said yesterday.

Olkkonen, however, refused to comment on the issue raised by other diplomats, but said the EU remains concerned about the Bill.

“We are closely following the political environment as we are moving to the next elections, and of course trying to play our part in the social and economic sphere and it’s important for us because the EU is planning its future co-operation with Zimbabwe,” he said.

The Patriotic Bill seeks to foster patriotism and criminalise talking bad about Zimbabwe. -Newsday

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European Commission Speech Brussels, 16 Apr 2021 Thank you João, good evening everyone.
Let me start with the recovery.
We are entering the final stage in preparing the national recovery and resilience …

BRUSSELS: The European Commission urged Ireland on Friday to pursue less restrictive measures than the mandatory hotel quarantine regime introduced last month and sought clarifications as to why some fellow EU member states were subject to the rules.
Ireland is the only one the EU’s 27 countries that forces arrivals from certain countries to pay almost 2,000 euros each to quarantine for up to 14 days in a secure hotel and this week added Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg to its list of designated states that initially also included Austria.
The EU executive wrote to the Irish government on Friday in relation to the criteria used to determine the list, a spokesman said.
“The Commission has concerns regarding this measure in relation to the general principles of EU law, in particular proportionality and non-discrimination,” the spokesman said.
“The Commission believes that the objective pursued by Ireland, which is the protection of public health during the pandemic, could be achieved by less restrictive measures.”
Exemptions should also be made for essential travel, he added.
The Commission sent similar administrative letters to six other EU countries in March querying Covid-19 related travel restrictions but has yet to start an infringement process against any member state on the issue.
Dublin has said that keeping new Covid variants out of the country, rather than high rates of disease, is the main criteria for adding countries to the list. The Italian ambassador to Ireland also criticised the regime this week.
Ministers had flagged in advance of last week’s decision that including fellow member states could be lead to issues around EU freedom of movement rules.
Health minister Stephen Donnelly said he “flat out disagreed” with the Commission if it was telling Ireland it cannot put such measures in place for countries that have been identified as having Covid-19 variants of concern.
“I make no apologies to the Commission, to the Italian ambassador or anyone else for putting in place the measures that we believe and our public health teams believe are the right measures to keep people safe,” Donnelly told RTE television.
“We are now leading Europe by a country mile in terms of the biosecurity measures we have in place. It’s something we should be very proud of and it’s something the people want.”

The EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific Community on Thursday (15 April) finalised the successor to the Cotonou agreement, bringing a close to two and a half years of negotiations and repeated delays.

Speaking at the initialling ceremony in Brussels, Commissioner for International Partnerships and EU chief negotiator, Jutta Urpilainen, said the agreement was a “turning point that will make our relationship more political and fit for the future”.

At the heart of the pact is the promise of greater political dialogue and development cooperation. It also includes text on security and migration, one of the most controversial issues throughout the talks, including new commitments from the ACP countries on return and re-admission of failed economic migrants. It also includes text on agreeing “circular migration” and legal pathways.

In a nod to another EU priority which has been controversial for some African states, it also includes commitments to gender equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Meanwhile, in a bid to assuage concerns from African nations that the agreement should account more for the specific needs of three highly diverse regions, the deal involves a “3 + 1” structure based on a common foundation covering all 88 countries, which sets out the values and priorities, along with three regional protocols for Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific, tailored to each region’s needs. This will allow for an “unprecedented regional focus”, the EU claims.

In addition, EU and ACP leaders want their respective blocs to increase co-operation in international forums, having seen the EU support the successful candidacy of Nigeria’s former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was appointed as the new Secretary General of the World Trade Organisation at the start of this year.

The refit of the Cotonou Agreement also sees the inclusion of the UN-agreed Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate change agreement in the text. The EU is keen to export the principles of its Green Deal, while African states, which are among the lowest contributors to global carbon emissions, are expected to request increased EU funding and investment for their own energy transition at a High-Level Forum between EU and African officials, scheduled for 23 April.

However, the new agreement will not change trading arrangements between the EU and ACP, which will continue to be based on the regional economic partnership agreements and the Anything But Arms agreement. Nor does it include a funding component.

Negotiations on a new Partnership Agreement to succeed the 2000 Cotonou Agreement started in September 2018. A political agreement between the negotiators, Urpilainen and Togo’s foreign minister Robert Dussey for the ACP, was concluded in December.

The ratification process will now start with a view to being completed before the end of November, when the Cotonou Agreement is due to expire. Like its predecessor, the new Partnership Agreement will be last for 20 years.

The new pact is expected to dovetail with the upcoming, and also repeatedly delayed talks between the EU and the African Union on a new ‘strategic partnership’ between the two continents.

[Edited by Frédéric Simon]